Michelin Tyre plc (MTPLC) is restructuring its business by closing its Ballymena tyre factory and investing instead on its Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent sites.
MTPLC will close its truck tyre factory in Ballymena due to the downturn in demand for truck tyres in Europe since the financial crisis of 2007, which has seen the market decrease by over 5 million tyres.
To attract new business in Ballymena, Michelin Development is prepared to release more than £5 million to help company start-ups, fund expansion at existing businesses.
As part of MTPLC’s plans to maintain its position as a key part of Michelin operations in Europe, it is announcing investments of £65 million at its Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent sites. Dundee will benefit from a five-year investment of more than £52 million to transform it into a state-of-the-art factory.
The investment will increase production by 30% through the installation of new tyre-building machines, enabling the production of larger tyres which are a growing segment of the market.
Tyre curing capabilities will be increased with the installation of electric presses, the first large-scale industrialisation of this technology at a Michelin production site. A new 20,000 square metre warehouse will be built on site to accommodate this increased production.
Following a modernisation project of the Stoke-on-Trent factory with a £21 million investment over the last few years, there will be an additional investment of £12 million in its production and logistics facilities.
This will include a modernised distribution centre of 53,000 square metres in Stoke-on-Trent to serve all MTPLC customers, dealers and partners from a single shared logistics platform.
This series of investments will lead to the creation of a total of more than 100 new jobs in Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent.